{"id":10215,"date":"2025-02-19T15:06:56","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T15:06:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/?p=10215"},"modified":"2025-02-19T15:07:20","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T15:07:20","slug":"my-cardiff-half-giving-back-to-my-dads-cancer-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/2025\/02\/19\/my-cardiff-half-giving-back-to-my-dads-cancer-care\/","title":{"rendered":"My Cardiff Half: giving back to my dad\u2019s cancer care"},"content":{"rendered":"

This autumn, politics student Joseph is taking on the Cardiff Half Marathon to support vital cancer research at Cardiff University<\/a>. Read his story for inspiration or take on your own challenge and join #TeamCardiff<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

What inspired you to sign up to the Cardiff Half Marathon?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2015, my dad was diagnosed with sarcoma cancer in the jaw. As a storyteller, the diagnosis not only affected his health, but also his livelihood and identity.<\/p>\n

Thanks to researchers and medics at the University Hospital of Wales, my dad was given the all-clear. Raising funds for Cardiff University\u2019s cancer research department<\/a> is my way of giving back, as well as getting one step closer to ensuring no family endures the hardship mine did.<\/p>\n

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Can you describe your running journey so far?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I started running in the winter lockdown of 2021. I was a keen squash player, but due to Covid regulations, I couldn\u2019t get back on the court. I needed a way to keep fit and running offered just that.<\/p>\n

Later in 2022, my friend introduced me to parkrun, and my running really took off. Seeing my times drop motivated me to set bigger goals, and volunteering inspired me to make a difference on a larger scale \u2013 both of which led me to run the Cardiff Half for cancer research.<\/p>\n

Can you tell us about your Cardiff Half training plan?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve taken on half marathons before (Cardiff and Newport), so I\u2019m not unfamiliar with the distance \u2013 but it\u2019s definitely a challenge. The crowds make it much easier though, and the atmosphere is always amazing.<\/p>\n

My training will mostly consist of easy runs, with a long run once a week. When I\u2019m at home in Abergavenny, I\u2019ll make sure to do some hill training, in preparation for the one in Roath at the ten-mile point! I\u2019m also aiming to reach 150 parkruns by the time of the race, so I\u2019ll definitely integrate them into the plan.<\/p>\n

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What are you looking forward to on race day?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m really looking forward to running the race with friends from university, my running club Runwithus Abergavenny, and regulars from Cwmbran parkrun. It will be great to see everyone who has cheered me on in my running journey. My family and friends have been hugely supportive of me taking on the race \u2013 they share my passion for the cause and I\u2019m really grateful for their encouragement.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re thinking of running yourself, I would say go for it! The money you raise will fund life-saving cancer research, and you have everything to gain.<\/p>\n

Support Joseph<\/strong><\/p>\n

Show your support for Joseph on JustGiving<\/a> and help him boost his fundraising total.<\/p>\n

Join #TeamCardiff with your own place<\/strong><\/p>\n

Do you have your own place ready for the 2025 Cardiff Half Marathon? Join #TeamCardiff<\/a> and support Cardiff University\u2019s cancer or neuroscience and mental health research.<\/p>\n

Take on a different active challenge<\/strong><\/p>\n

Whatever your fitness or ability level, there\u2019s a challenge to suit you<\/a>. Places are now available at running events across the UK and abroad \u2013 including races around Bristol, Amsterdam, and Alton Towers. You can even join #TeamCardiff for a night time trek<\/a> up Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) in July.<\/p>\n

If you have any questions about joining #TeamCardiff, contact donate@cardiff.ac.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This autumn, politics student Joseph is taking on the Cardiff Half Marathon to support vital cancer research at Cardiff University. ","protected":false},"author":904,"featured_media":10216,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[211,39,142,3,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-teamcardiff","category-cardiff-connect","category-donate","category-events","category-news"],"meta_box":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/904"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10215"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10215\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10225,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10215\/revisions\/10225"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}